US Predators struck again in Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, killing five.
The remotely piloted Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired missiles today in a pair of attacks the villages of Machi Khel and Aziz Khel in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, according to Dawn. The first strike hit a compound in Machi Khel, killing five “militants. The second strike hit a vehicle in Aziz Khel, killing four more militants.
No senior al Qaeda or Taliban operatives have been reported killed in the strike.
The US has zeroed in on the Mir Ali area this month. Of the 12 strikes in North Waziristan in October, the US has hit targets in Mir Ali six times. In the last strike in Mir Ali, on Oct. 10, Predators struck a camp known to be used by Afghan refugees who support Taliban operations in Afghanistan. Seven “militants” were reported killed in that strike.
The Mir Ali area is in the sphere of influence of Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda leader who serves as a key link to the Taliban and supports al Qaeda’s external operations network. Mir Ali is a known hub for al Qaeda’s military and external operations councils. Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network also operate in the Mir Ali area.
Despite the fact that Bahadar and the Haqqani Network shelter al Qaeda and other South and Central Asian terror groups, the Pakistani government and military refuse to take action in North Waziristan. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are viewed as “good Taliban” as they do not attack the Pakistani state.
The Predator strikes, by the numbers
The pace of the strikes since the beginning of September is unprecedented since the US began the air campaign in Pakistan in 2004. The 21 strikes in September is a record number, and with 12 strikes already in October, the US appears to be prepared to match last month’s pace. The previous high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. In the bombing at COP Chapman, seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer were killed.
The US has carried out 87 attacks inside Pakistan this year, which is more than double the number of strikes in Pakistan just two years ago. The US exceeded last year’s strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram in late August. In 2008, the US carried out 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 – 2010.]
All but nine of this year’s 87 strikes have taken place in North Waziristan. Of the nine strikes that have occurred outside of North Waziristan, seven took place in South Waziristan, one occurred in Khyber, and one took place in Kurram.
The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda’s external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda’s external operations. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 – 2010.]
4 Comments
Hmmm…maybe the good Taliban are actually in charge of Pakistan? I’m not liking this so-called “ally” relationship with Pakistan. There’s pieces to this puzzle that don’t fit and I can’t put a finger on it.
IT WILL PROBABLY TAKE AWHILE TO DETERMINE WHO WAS KILLED IN THESE STRIKES.
THE MARTYRDOM VIDEO DEPARTMENT IS ALL BACKED -UP.
The death toll has increased.
Dawn: Nine militants killed in drone attacks in N. Waziristan
Mir Ali has been a thorn in our sides for so long. There exists the modern day equivalent to the Ho Chi Minh trail along that town.